Are You Ready for Cold Weather?

Fall is the time to prepare for winter—cold and wet conditions not only make you miserable, but they can damage your home. Some winterizing can wait, some can’t. Make a list of what needs to be done, and tackle the time-sensitive tasks first. Here’s a simple checklist from the association to help you get a jump on winter.

Indoor Winterizing

Examine doors and replace weather-stripping as needed.

Examine window caulking and reseal where needed.

Examine and repair vents where needed.

Clean chimneys and flues.

Remove items near heat vents.

Place nonskid runners or door mats outside to help keep water, sand and salt out of the house.

Outdoor Winterizing

Cut back tree branches and shrubs that hide signs or block light.

Examine outdoor handrails and tighten if needed.

Turn off electrical breakers for outdoor equipment.

Close hose bibs.

Clean out gutters and downspouts.

Clear yard drains.

Spray outdoor locks and hinges with lubricant.

Stake driveway and walkway edges that may be difficult to find under deep snow.

Assemble, stockpile or refresh winter supplies:

Batteries

Candles and matches

Ice melt and deicer

Sand

Snow shovels

Generator fuel

Antifreeze

National Survey Shows That HOA Residents Are Happy

We’re confident that most residents are happy living in our community—and we certainly hope you are among them. But how do the more than 62 million Americans who live in homeowners associations and condominium communities feel about their own associations? Are they happy with their elected boards? How do they feel about the rules? What about their association assessments?

The Foundation for Community Association Research, an affiliate of Community Associations Institute (CAI), sponsored a recent national public opinion survey to answer these and other questions. Here are some of the key findings:

• 70 percent of residents in common-interest communities say they are satisfied with their community association experience, while 8 percent express dissatisfaction and 22 percent are neutral on the question.
• 88 percent of residents believe their association board members strive to serve the best interests of the community, while 12 percent disagree or aren’t sure.
• 73 percent say their professional managers provide value to their communities, while 21 percent say their managers aren’t an asset to the association and 6 percent say they aren’t sure.
• 76 percent believe their own community association rules “protect and enhance” property values. Only 3 percent say the rules harm property values, while the rest see no difference.
• 81 percent of residents say they get a “good” or “great” return for their association assessments, while 18 percent say the return is “not so good or bad.” The rest were unsure.

We’d like to think that we can do even better than the national averages, so please tell us what you think we can do to make our community a better place to live. We encourage you to get involved, so let us know how you can help. There is no substitute for active and constructive involvement and no better way to build a true sense of community.

If you’re especially pleased about our community, share that too! It’s always good to know we’re on the right track.

More national survey results, which include comparative data from similar surveys in 2005, 2007 and 2009, are available under “Research Projects” at www.cairf.org.

AMG Team of Managers

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not a single act; it’s a habit.  Though ancient Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle said those words more than two thousand years ago, they still ring true at AMG, Association Management Group, one of the Carolinas’ largest professional homeowner association managers with five offices in North and South Carolina. The company just upped its Excellence quotient with the addition of four  new staff members to its Greensboro, NC office.  Chelsi Kizziah, Dayla Maddox, Melissa Cook and Tyanna Waddell have joined AMG’s community management team, a group of seasoned, CAI-credentialed managers (Community Associations Institute) with an average of over10 years in the industry–some with 20 to 30 years of association management expertise.  

​As part of the AMG team of managers, Kizziah, Maddox, Cook and Waddell will work with some of the Triad’s finest communities to help their volunteer boards organize and conduct board meetings; prepare budgets and funding reserves; draft assessment collection policies and procedures; create, implement and enforce rules and governing documents; collect delinquent payments, prepare financial statements and reporting methods and operations; evaluate risk management and insurance programs; implement maintenance programs; prepare bid requests and identify key contract provisions; recruit, select and manage personnel; and facilitate communications. 

According to AMG founder and President, Paul Mengert, the four new associates are a perfect fit for the company because of their empathy, diligence, customer service skills and expertise in project facilitation. “AMG is continually looking for the best and brightest to join our corporate family,” he said. “Over the last two decades AMG has built a nationally-accredited team of community managers based on its ability to identify not only the right skills but the right attitudes to serve its clients. An important part of AMG's role is to link our clients with experts who can help them improve the operational efficiency of their communities and, ultimately, increase property values. We look forward to Chelsi, Dayla, Melissa and Tyanna  providing our hallmark personal service to clients and helping communities stay healthy, attractive and connected.” 

About AMG:  AMG is a professional community association management company dedicated to building effective community associations. AMG guides and assists executive boards to help protect the association's interests, enhance the lives of community members and improve the property values in the community. With offices throughout the Carolinas in Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Charlotte and Raleigh, NC, and Greenville and Aiken, SC, AMG is a knowledgeable partner in enforcing community governing documents with a proven set of processes and techniques, and supporting communities with a broad range of services which can be tailored to individual community needs. Association Management Group, Inc. is a locally Accredited Business by the BBB and is a nationally Accredited Association Management Company (AAMC) by the Community Associations Institute. For more about AMG, visit www.amgworld.com.

Techno Trash

The proliferation of iPhones, iPads, smartphones and other personal communication devices in the last few years has made communications easier and more convenient. It also has created millions of tons of toxic electronic trash.

Cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury are among the toxic and potentially cancer-causing substances used to construct smartphones and other personal electronics, according to a 2011 article in The Washington Post. When phones and other devices are discarded, these substances leach into the ground and water, poisoning plant, animal—and sometimes human—life.

In the U.S. alone, Americans disposed of 126 million mobile phones in 2007, reports The Post, and in the last five years, “the developing world has tripled its disposal of electronic junk.” While almost all parts of smartphones are recyclable, Martin Nielsen, chief executive of Waste Systems, says that the U.S. recycling rate for personal electronic devices is low—only 18 percent. In a report released by Electronics Takeback Coalition, the recycling rate for cell phones alone is even lower—a mere 10 percent.

With all the damage that improperly discarded electronic devices can cause, it’s important for everyone to know how to correctly dispose of them. Stores such as Best Buy, Radio Shack and Apple will recycle your unwanted electronics, regardless of where the device was purchased. You can also learn more about electronic recycling programs for individuals and businesses at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website, www.epa.gov/oaintrnt/practices/electronics.htm.

Understanding Special Assessments

There’s no way to sugar-coat it: everyone hates special assessments. Getting a notice that you owe more money to the association can not only put a damper on your day but also a dent in your wallet, both of which the board is sympathetic to. In a perfect world, there would never be a need for special assessments—or any other type of assessments for that matter—but sadly, they’re sometimes a necessary evil.

Often times, special assessments are levied when the association needs to make essential repairs, improvements or additions to the common elements, but lacks extra reserve funds to cover the costs. While the board puts in its best effort to keep a healthy reserve fund and to budget in advance for these types of projects, occasionally unforeseen expenses occur. When this happens, we have to call upon our residents to pitch in financially so that our association can remain solvent. Unfortunately special assessments aren’t optional fees, and residents are responsible for paying special assessments in the same way they’re responsible for general association assessments. Just remember, though, that these fees are funding projects that will benefit all residents, and your special assessment fees are your contribution toward that.

Of course, the board doesn’t take levying special assessments lightly. Not only do we understand that special assessments can be a hardship for you, but—since we would also be responsible for paying our share of any new special assessment—they’re an extra financial burden on resident board members as well. Because of this, we try and make levying special assessments a last resort, and, if passed, offer payment plans when possible. There are also regulations set forth in our bylaws that we must follow before levying a special assessment, and in some instances we require residents to vote on the proposed project before we can adopt the special assessment for it. Make sure your opinions on these matters are heard by attending open board meetings and voting on these critical projects.      

While none of this changes the fact that having to pay special assessments fees is about as fun as a root canal, just remember that it’s all part of the greater good for the association. They’re investments to your home and your community, and can help keep our association a wonderful place to live for years to come.